The Stars Hollow Inheritance
by StarPotterTwilightHunger
Summary: I tried to write a story about Luke raising Rory after Lorelai dies on my other channel back in April of this year, called A Gilmore Girl and A (Sorta) Gilmore Guy, but it stalled. This is my second attempt. Enjoy!
1. Chapter 1: Inherit the Immaculate

**Chapter 1: Inherit the Immaculate**

Luke Danes was just about closed up. He only had one last table of customers, but they were his favorite, so he didn't mind.

Mother-daughter pair Lorelai and Rory Gilmore had been friends of his for years. He kept them well-fed as Lorelai was not much of a cook. But he also let quiet, studious Rory stay in the diner sometimes to do her schoolwork. The 16-year-old was about to start a new school, and from the look in her doe eyes throughout the fall evening, she looked nervous.

Lorelai and Rory finished their burgers and coffee (Luke had tried to talk them out of the drink of death, but they had refused), and Luke walked them home from the Diner, same as he did almost every night. He carried a sleeping Rory.

Despite being barely September, there was already snow on the ground, and the night was bitterly cold. But that was the way of it here in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. Still, it made Luke cry when he and the Gilmore girls approached the potting shed out back of the Independence Inn that was the girls' home. It stood proud and silent on the crest of a small hill, but Luke had seen it up close. And to watch the girls go in there every night still hungry and still cold and still poor nearly made him cry. The place had had a dirt floor until recently, when Luke had possessed a spasm of hardwareness (that was Lorelai's phrase) and insisted on building them a proper floor. Now Luke tucked Rory into her mother's bed and was distressed to see that, even with a blanket, she shivered. She could not get warm. Luke quickly took the very clothes off his back - consisting of his signature flannel and a T-shirt - and threw them over her. He tried not to think about how Lorelai was seeing him bare-chested.

"You're not walking home like that, Tarzan," Lorelai teased, and Luke flushed at her he-man reference.

"Aw, geez. I'll be fine. Goodnight, ladies." And he jogged back into the snow and all the way to the Diner. He should have frozen, but he didn't and didn't mind. As long as Rory was warm.

* * *

Luke was awoken by a rapping at his door. He stumbled down from his apartment above the Diner to find Kirk looking all flustered. Luke could have killed him, but then again, he harbored such thoughts against Kirk at least three times during an average day.

"What, Kirk? What's going on?"

He could only stammer out a "Fire... come on!" With a shirt now on, Luke followed him at a run through the town. When they reached the back of the Inn, Luke's heart plummeted like a stone.

The potting shed was in flames. Luke instinctively ran for the structure, but firefighters held him back. "Lorelai! Rory!"

Thankfully, he saw Rory being attended to by neighbors, still swaddled in his flannel, but safe. Yet where was...?

A body was now being hauled out of the potting shed, not burned, and doctors immediately began CPR. Luke went over to comfort a whimpering Rory. At last, many hours later, he felt a doctor's hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry."

Rory let out a scream of understanding and clutched to Luke as she sobbed. The Diner owner, meanwhile, had his own tears dripping down his cheeks.

Lorelai Gilmore, the light of the town, was dead. By smoke asphyxiation.

* * *

Luke took Rory back to the Diner and tucked her in his own bed. Early the next morning, he went downstairs to meet Taylor Dosse, as the Mayor of Stars Hollow held an emergency meeting.

"We have to decide what's to be done about Rory."

The opinions were surprisingly mixed.

"We should find her father. Track him down." Al of Al's Pancake World suggested

Luke had always thought of Christopher Hayden as more myth than man. The very little he had learned from Lorelai was that the man was a deadbeat and after fathering Rory had outlived any usefulness.

"But where is he?" asked Kirk.

"I heard he got a tattoo, moved to Australia and fathered two more illegitimate children there." Taylor informed the group.

Luke bristled at the implication that Rory was in any way illegitimate. "Where did you learn that?"

"The Internet," Taylor blinked honestly.

"Lorelai told me he's in California, last she heard." Luke shrugged.

"Very helpful!" Taylor brightened, writing that down. "Where in California?"

"Even if I knew, I wouldn't tell you. I will not have Rory go to him. He's not right for her."

The other men actually did not refute this, instead merely staring at Luke sympathetically. "What did Lorelai tell you?"

"She told me enough. And I'm not about to uproot Rory from everything she's ever known..."

* * *

Upstairs, Rory Gilmore was awake. And alone for the first time in her life. She couldn't hear the voices of the men downstairs trying to decide her fate, consumed instead by her own thoughts.

Her beloved mother and best friend was dead... how could she go on living? Where was her mother now? Anguished in some netherworld over not being with her? Safe? Didn't matter. She was somewhere where Rory could not be. A forlorn lullaby now played in Rory's mind:

 _'Come out, moon. Come out, wishing star. Come out, come out... wherever you are. I'm out here in the dark, all alone and wide awake - Come and find me! I'm empty and I'm cold, and my heart's about to break - come and find me! I need you to come here and find me, cause without you, I'm totally lost. I've hung a wish on every star; it hasn't done much good so far. I can only dream of you... wherever you are. I'll hear you laugh, I'll see you smile, I'll be with you... just for awhile. But when the morning comes, and the sun begins to rise, I will lose you. Because it's just a dream; when I open up my eyes, I will lose you! I used to believe in forever. But forever's too good to be true. I don't know what else to do, except to try and dream of you. And I wonder if you're dreaming too... wherever you are.'_

She couldn't live on like this. Rory refused to! Seeing a pair of scissors on the bedside table, Rory got an idea. Taking the one blade, she gulped before cutting an artery and letting the blood flow freely. It was warm and rusty and she soon felt light-headed. But the pain was only temporary. She staggered about, an almost dreamy smile on her face. Soon enough, she would be with her beloved mother again...

She bumped into something, and there was a crash as she collapsed to the floor. She scarcely heard the footsteps pounding up the stairs or the door open. "NO! Rory... RORY!" Luke's scream was primal as he gathered her in his arms. "What have you done, princess? Why?"

"Let me go now..." Rory murmured. "Let me be with her..."

"You're not going to die," Luke vowed as he scoooed her up. "Not on my watch."


	2. Chapter 2: The Funeral

**Chapter 2: The Funeral**

The doctors helped Rory to make a full recovery. Meanwhile, Luke learned that Lorelai had assigned him to be Rory's guardian in her will, revising it just a few months before her death. He wondered if the Gilmores would be notified of all that had transpired. Probably, but he wouldn't be the one to do it. Luke already knew of Lorelai's complicated relationship with her parents.

The day of Lorelai's funeral was rainy. Rory said goodbye next to the open casket, followed by every member of the town. Luke was last of all. Thank God smoke asphyxiation and not burns had taken her, as Lorelai still looked so beautiful.

He had wanted to tell her how he felt. It was the best-kept secret in all of Stars Hollow, for a town that was usually awful at keeping secrets. But he could never find the words. And as far as he was aware, Lorelai had never suspected his true feelings. Luke didn't even know if Rory had figured it out. Didn't matter. Now it was too late. Luke kissed her lips and whispered, "I love you!" when he thought no one else was looking.

Just then, a small group of people in rich coats approached the cemetery. A young man with spiky hair reached for Rory, but she shrank against Ms. Patty and Babette. Christopher Hayden, Rory's father. Emily Gilmore, meanwhile, marched right up to Luke.

"I don't care what her will says! I will not have my granddaughter raised by some filthy Diner man! You, who speaks lousy English and reads book reviews like they was books!"

"Book reviews like they _were_ books," Rory meekly corrected her grandmother.

Luke looked behind him to see the whole town form a protective ring around Rory. They had his back.

"You're right, Emily. I am no one. I am _nothing_. I am just a guy who was in love with your daughter and loves your grandbaby as if she was my own! I have known Rory since before she could crawl. She's a great kid - funny; inquisitive; sweet. And I'll be damned if you're going to take that away from me and destroy that! This is what her mother wanted - she didn't ask her talentless baby daddy; she asked me, her best friend! I will raise Rory - without you're approval if I must. And I will protect her from you as long as there is breath in my body. I will give her the clothes on my back. She will want for nothing and I'll be blessed if she even learns one thing from me! I'm blessed to have her, and I won't lose her. Not now. Get out!"

And the Gilmores and Haydens left, fuming.


	3. Chapter 3: Rory's Going to Chilton

**Chapter 3: Rory's Going to Chilton**

Luke held the letter in his hand. He moved his palm up and down, as if to weigh it. It certainly felt heavy. He regarded Rory, his charge. "The count of three?"

Rory gulped, her cerulean eyes betraying a clear terror. "Just do it quick," she said softly. "Like a bandaid."

So Luke ripped open the envelope. He scanned one line, then another, with his eyes. At last, he whooped. "You got in!"

"I did?!" Rory seized the letter and then began to happily dance around the diner once the acceptance was confirmed.

"I'm going to go to the Inn and tell everyone! Close up, and don't answer the door until I'm back." In his euphoria, Luke actually pecked Rory on the cheek, as if she was his own child. "I love you!"

Luke couldn't concentrate all the way on his drive up to the Inn. It had been Lorelai who had applied to the prestigious Hartford school on Rory's behalf. Unfortunately, she did not live to see the results. But, Luke figured that her former colleagues at the Inn had a right to know.

"Sookie!" Luke called, bursting into the kitchen. "Rory got into Chilton!"

Sookie shrieked and hugged him. "Oh, give the pumpkin a squeeze for me! And cake!"

"Yes on the squeeze, no on the cake; you know how I hare sugar! I figured... you had a right to know. Because Lore..."

Sookie placed a gentle hand on his arm. "I know. Go tell Michel and watch him pop a vein!"

As Luke ran off, Sookie began to do a victory dance. "Rory's going to Chilton, Rory's going to Chilton..."

* * *

"Luke, wake up! It's 7:10 A.M.! We have to go!" Rory shook her guardian awake.

Luke sprang out of bed. "Fuck! Where are my clothes?" He dug through his drawers desperately to find something.

"7:13," Rory announced.

"This sucks! Where are my socks?" Luke grumbled.

"7:14."

"I need something other than my Butch T-shirt to wear! I'll look like a call boy!"

"7:15."

"All right, little missy! Make yourself useful and go warm up the truck!"

At last, Luke came down in boots, a not-quite suitable T-shirt and his baseball cap. "How do I look?"

"Nothing, I just didn't know the rodeo was in town," Rory deadpanned, throwing shade.

"I'm bringing the baby pictures your mom left me!" Luke threatened.

"No! I like the rodeo; the rodeo rules!" Rory whined, following him out the door.

* * *

30 minutes later, Luke and Rory stood outside the Headmaster's office.

"Ready?"

"No."

Luke asked again. "Ready?"

"Yes." They pushed open the door together.

"Hi," Luke said nervously, to Headmaster Charleston who obviously did not approve of his appearance. "I'm Luke Danes, and this is Lorelai Leigh Gilmore. Her mother, Lorelai - well, she, the daughter, I mean, is called Rory because her mama was apparently whacked out on Demerol when she named her - got her, Rory accepted here, and... Yeah, just call her Rory. Her mom is Lorelai, but she unfortunately has passed away."

Charleston nodded slowly. "And you are her father?"

"The only one she has. I'm her guardian, actually. But I love her like she's mine," Luke amended.

Charleston handed Rory her things. "Welcome to Chilton, Miss Gilmore. And Mr. Danes, we are anxious to have you in the parenting community."


	4. Chapter 4: Deer Hunters

**Chapter 4: Deer Hunters**

Rory started off at Chilton OK. At least, that was the terminology she had used with Luke. Apparently, she already earned the wrath of one girl after accidentally destroying her project on the Roman viaducts, and there was this boy whom kept calling Rory, 'Mary.' Luke was so distressed by this last bit of information that he made Rory point the little punk out before school one day. "His ass is grass, princess... don't you worry..." the diner man muttered darkly. "Let me know if it happens again."

The classes were extremely competitive and Rory was working harder than she ever had in her life. Luke was surprised to find her crying one evening in the closed diner, even after he gave her pie. Pie always made her feel better.

"What's wrong, princess?"

"I got a D on my first English assignment. I suck!"

"You do not suck! What was it on?"

"Shakespeare. And there's a test on Saturday!"

Luke frowned. "Who gives tests on a Saturday?"

"Mr. Medina."

"OK. What do we have to do to get you an A on that test?"

* * *

They studied non-stop. The only break either got was for Parent-Teacher night that Thursday. Mr. Medina discussed some of the authors they would be studying. As he did, Luke and Rory could feel the other parents' and students' eyes on them.

"Take a look at what just breathed in the door!" hissed one father, wrinkling his nose at Luke's flannel.

The mothers were only slightly more approving. "Oh, I'd like to unwrap that..."

Rory heard this and, frowning, kept a possessive hand on Luke's arm. Then Mr. Medina asked the parents to stand up and say whose parent they were and what they did for a living. Most were rich CEO's, company presidents. And they were all the biological parent of someone. Luke stood up bravely at his turn.

"My name is Luke Danes. I run Luke's Diner in Stars Hollow, Connecticut. This is my... daughter, Rory Gilmore. I mean, she's not my biological daughter, but I have known her since she could crawl. She's mine in all sense but blood. Her mother left her to me when she died. The father... is out of the picture."

Rory could feel the other parents' snooty judgement on Luke as he sat down. So, even though the kids were expected to sit quietly, she stood up. "And he's the best father ever!" she announced. "Luke would give the clothes off his back to me if he could, and he has! To keep me warm. He's fed me ever since I was in a highchair. He's the closest thing I have to a father!" Her eyes blazed around the room, daring anyone to pass further judgement.

"What a unique and inspiring story!" Mr. Medina restored order.

* * *

Rory woke up late on the day of the test. Luke offered to drive her to school, but she took his truck alone. Unfortunately, she ran into a deer. Well, actually, the deer hit her car while she was stopped, which made Rory even later for the test.

Mr. Medina would not let her take it. Furious, Luke stormed Chilton and berated both Mr. Medina and Headmaster Charleston. "We have done nothing else outside of our work at the diner for days!" he stressed. "Do you want to kill her? Rory's a great kid, and she has hopes and dreams. She made a mistake! That's all! One mistake doesn't deserve this kind of failure!"

"We treat failure very differently than your kind do, Mr. Danes," the Headmaster said. "Rory must conform to the rules."

" _My_ kind? Conform to the rules?" Luke's veins were popping in his head. "How dare you! At least Rory is humble, unlike you snooty brown-nosers! I know what you think of me! That I don't belong here! And you're right - I don't. But she does! I have to give her a chance in life! I'm the one paying her way here, and if it kills me, I will continue to do so!"

Luke's protests fell on deaf ears, and he was thrown out of the office. He made sure to tell Rory that none of this was her fault, and he loved her regardless.


	5. Chapter 5: Rory's Birthday Parties

**Chapter 5: Rory's Birthday Parties**

It was Rory's 16th birthday. When she came downstairs from where she slept in the loft of the diner, she discovered a coffee cake sitting at one table with a balloon standing guard. The balloon read HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RORY!

"You blew up balloons for me?" she asked.

"Yup," Luke said simply.

"Aw, Luke, you old softie!" And she and Lane, her best friend, went to eat the cake.

* * *

That night, the whole town took over the diner to celebrate Rory's birthday. As a gesture of goodwill, the Gilmores - Rory's maternal grandparents, were also given an invitation. Emily at one point explored Rory's room, which consisted of a small bed pushed against one wall, opposite the large bed that was Luke's.

"I'm very careful."

Emily spun around to see Luke in the doorway. "She wanted to share my room. She said... she felt safer being close to me. I always give her her pivacy. Knock before entering any room. Things like that."

Being the prude that she was, Emily was still a little uneasy at the arrangement. Her granddaughter slept feet away from an unkempt diner man that had no blood relation with her? Yet she smiled tightly, giving away nothing on her face. "Oh. Well, that's nice."

She and Richard hugged Rory goodbye, and then drove back to Hartford in silence.


	6. Chapter 6: Kiss and Tell

**Chapter 6: Kiss And Tell**

It was a Saturday morning. Rory was out for the day running errands. Luke was working the diner when he remembered that he had forgotten something for the list he had made for Rory on groceries.

Luke raced over to Doose's Market himself to get the corn starch. But, stalking down one aisle, he suddenly stopped dead in his tracks when he observed Rory with the corn starch already. Clever girl. She must have remembered herself.

But now she was talking to some boy. A boy who all at once bent and kissed Rory on the mouth.

Luke eyes narrowed in rage. How dare that boy kiss his daughter! He'd make that little motherfucker wish he was dead! He began to advance like an angry bull towards the pair, but the kiss was suddenly over as quickly as it had started. And a frightened Rory ran out.

"Lane!" she told her best friend. "I got kissed. And... I shoplifted."

"Are you serious? Who kissed you?"

"Dean."

"The new kid."

"In the market."

"He kissed you in the market?"

"On aisle three."

"That's a good aisle!"

"But what do I tell Luke?"

"Will he know?"

"He's Luke! Of course he'll know! What do I do?"

But as Rory was fretting how to tell her guardian, Luke was plotting how to kill the Forrester boy and get away with it.

* * *

Luke would get his revenge several weeks later, though. Even if it pained him to see his charge start to go out with this Dean fellow, and then develop a crush on him. Like him enough to go to a Chilton dance with him, and stay out all night in the process. Luke had called the whole town when she didn't come back at her curfew, worried sick. Apparently, she and Dean fell asleep in a mound of hay. _They better not have rolled around in it_ , Luke thought menacingly.

Then, on another date - a private one - Dean broke up with his little girl. With no explanation. Rory was crushed, but refused to cry, even when it was clear to Luke that she needed to. So, when Dean came around to the diner one weekend morning, Luke forced him away, refusing service.

"You're not coming in here," Luke vowed. "Turn around." And he began to push Dean back towards the square. Dean resisted. The older and younger man got into a tussle with each other in view of the whole town. Rory had to run out of the diner while she was still taking orders and break it up.

But she should have seen it coming. A Daddy's love knew no bounds. Especially when his baby was hurt.


	7. Chapter 7: Felony Fun

**Chapter 7: Felony Fun**

Emily Gilmore stalked into Luke's Diner. Rory had been living under Luke's care for a few months, and it was almost Christmas.

When she got inside, she found a giant Nova Scotia pine taking up most of the eatery. "What on Earth...? Rory, what is that?"

"A Christmas tree!" Rory called back, not even minding who it was she was speaking to. "Luke chopped it down in the park!"

* * *

That evening, Emily paced around her living room. Richard was reading the paper. Christopher was leaning against a far wall.

"I knew it!" Emily ranted. "I just knew something like this would happen!"

Christopher tried to back up Emily's empty rants with some rational thoughts. "I seem to recall chopping down a tree in a public place is a felony."

Richard merely turned the page in his newspaper and drolled, "OK, the Christmas tree thing might have been a little excessive, but at least Rory is starting to be happy for once!"

Christopher could detect even the subtlest digs like a blood hound smells a critter. "What's... what's that supposed to mean?"

"Well, I don't think it's any secret, Christopher, that you haven't exactly been there for her. And Emily, you have not been supportive of our daughter's final wishes."

Christopher's mouth formed a tight line. "Well, then, why don't we just let... the deranged Diner man raise her? Then they can have _lots_ of fun committing felonies!" he offered sarcastically.

"We should speak to the Mayor!" Emily decided.

* * *

Now, Rory's family had no idea that the Mayor doubled as the town grocer. So they went up to the Independence Inn, Lorelai's old place of employment, and seeing a man behind a desk, figured he was some kind of official.

"We'd like to speak to the Mayor," Emily requested.

"Yes, and I am the President," Michel responded sarcastically. The intercom beside him buzzed to life.

"Michel! Coffee and a Monte Cristo! Now!"

Michel sighed exasperatedly. "Yes, Mrs. Mia! Right away!" Mia Bass had come out of retirement to manage the Inn after Lorelai's passing. "And just so you are aware, Rory warned me about you yahooligans and asked me to inform you: cutting down a tree in a public place is not a felony if it relates to a tree-involving holiday season, which according to our laws include Christmas, Arbor Day and Flag Day!" Michel smiled tightly at the Gilmores and Christopher.

"There's a season for Flag Day?" Christopher frowned, utterly perplexed.

"Yes, the first two weeks of June. Now, sir, I have to get back to my work. But by the way, the Broadway cast of Grease called; they want their Danny Zuko back!"

Christopher looked down at his leather jacket and scowled. No sooner had they left than Rory appeared in an inflatable maid costume. It looked like something one might wear on Halloween!

"Michel... are you sure they don't have anything in my size?"

Michel didn't answer the question. "Clean the lobby couches. Then you can go home to that pigsty of a Diner."

"Yippee!" Rory cheered.

* * *

Later, Rory and Lane got Luke to come with them to a frozen lake and go swimming.

"No way!" Luke had protested. "You'll get hypothermia!"

"Oh, come on, Luke! Where's your sense of adventure? On to the lake!" Rory crowed. Linking arms with her guardian and best friend, she began to sing a song on the spot: _'High-diddly-dee, a Luke Danes life for me! You wear your face in a line so grim, you dance like a sweep on a chimney-chim, you jump in the lake and go for a swim - a Luke Danes life for me!'_

"Stop! No! HALT!" Luke resisted desperately. Tool late. Rory threw him in.


	8. Chapter 8: Hayden Tries to Compete

**Chapter 8: Hayden Tries to Compete**

Christopher returned to Stars Hollow a few months later on his motorcycle. Though Rory was surprised, she was happy to see him, if for no other reason than she wanted to be accepting to all, even her biological father whom she had only met once or twice before. Christopher offered her a motorcycle ride, which Luke had no choice but to acquiesce to.

While Rory spent the day with her biological father, a jealous Luke tried to distract himself by running himself ragged at the diner. But he couldn't run away from the threat that Christopher seemed to pose to him for long. For Emily Gilmore came into the establishment later that afternoon.

"I understand you are paying for Rory to attend Chilton?"

"Yes," Luke sighed heavily. He was reminded of all the zeros he saw on those bills that he was just managing to pay. And evidently, Emily realized it too. For she now said:

"I'll make you a deal, Mr. Danes. I will help you pay for Rory's tuition, whatever outlying costs you need. And you get to keep her and raise her. But in return, you and Rory have to come to our house in Hartford every Friday night for dinner."

Luke raised an eyebrow. "For how long?"

"Oh, until Rory's education is complete." She swept towards the door to leave Luke to consider her offer. "Oh, and Christopher's parents will be in town this week, so... do wear something nice."

* * *

That Friday night, Luke and Rory joined Emily, Richard, Christopher and his parents, Straub and Francine Hayden, for Friday Night Dinner. Upon hearing that this man was raising Rory by Lorelai's orders and that he owned a filthy diner (the horror!) Straub and Francine - well, mostly, Straub, spent the evening giving subtle put-downs to Luke.

"Tell me, Lucas, how does someone of your... profession pay for a place like Chilton?" Straub drolled innocently.

But Rory saw right through that one. And she had had enough. "My daddy is very successful at what he does! He is putting everything towards my education and barely keeping the diner open as it is!"

Everyone stared at her, especially a clearly hurt Christopher. Realizing she had referred to Luke as her 'Daddy' and in the presence of mixed company, Rory clapped a hand over her mouth.

But Luke felt as though nothing could touch him. Like he was invincible. He was not merely Luke Danes no longer. He was Rory Gilmore's father. The girl herself had said it.


	9. Chapter 9: Jess Comes to Town

**Chapter 9: Jess Comes to Town**

When Luke got the phone call from his sister, Liz that she was sending his nephew, Jess Mariano down to live with him in Stars Hollow, Luke was nervous. He was already taking care of one kid that was not his; could he really handle two? And he was a boy. Instinctively, his thoughts went to protecting Rory.

So, when Jess arrived on the bus, Luke told him, "Listen up. Ground rules: you sleep on the floor at the far side of my and Rory's room. You knock before opening up every door. And you do not touch Rory for any reason that is not necessary or approved by me. Am I understood?"

Jess shrugged with an attitude problem. "Sure thing, Pops."

As Rory began her second year at Chilton, and following the first anniversary of Lorelai's death (Luke took her to the remains of the potting shed, and then her grave, to remember her), Rory and Jess began to become close. They debated literature, a subject they were both interested in.

Rory thought of Jess as a friend at first. She even tried to think of him as a brother, since he was her guardian's nephew. But her feelings began to change. When she saw him with other girls, she was jealous. And her relationship with Dean that she had repaired was starting to fray.

Things came to a head when the Stars Hollow Annual Dance Marathon came up. Rory taught Luke how to dance, waltzing him around the diner. She was pleased that he had agreed to be her partner for the evening.

At the dance, she and Luke did their best. The only rule was that at least one person could not stop dancing per team, which saved Luke time to go serve coffee occasionally while Rory danced. Dean made himself useful by taking over partner duties while Luke was working. It helped him stay as far away from his girlfriend's father figure as possible.

"I know you say he's a great guy. He just scares me," Dean admitted sheepishly.

Rory smiled. "He's just trying to protect me. He's been doing it since I was small."

Then Jess showed up with another girl. Seeing Rory watching them, a jealous Dean broke up with her in front of the entire town. Luke held Rory as she cried in his arms and they danced, and even though they lost, Rory gained something out of it.

She finally got to be with Jess.

Luke set up new rules at this development, as he now had two romantically involved teenagers living under his roof. "No being upstairs together alone. And you have to buy condoms, young man."

Rory's entire face flushed in mortification as Jess stared at his uncle in horror.


	10. Chapter 10: More Kids?

**Chapter 10: More Kids?**

It was a quiet day at the diner, as Jess and Rory took orders and Luke cleaned the counter. All at once, a face he had not seen in years came in through the front door. It was Anna Nardini, his old girlfriend from a good decade ago. She was accompanied by a little girl.

Who, Luke learned to his amazement, was his biological daughter, after April had conducted a DNA test as part of a science fair project. Anna had to go work in Europe and couldn't take April with her. Could Luke watch over their daughter?

 _More kids? First my nephew, then the child of my best friend? Now I have a daughter of my own? What I am, the foster care home?_ But Luke agreed to watch over April, whom he introduced to Rory and Jess.

April was even more nerdy than Rory, but the girls took a liking to each other. Luke ordered the loft undergo renovation, finally separating the bedroom in half and according to gender: Rory and April on one side, he and Jess on the other. Jess, meanwhile, tolerated April for his uncle's sake. Even though April was his cousin, the boy thought she was a little weird.

* * *

Luke held the documents in his hand nervously. He was just waiting for Rory to get home from Chilton. And now here she came, bouncing in her Chilton uniform. The girl had been with him for over two years, almost two and a half. And even with Jess and April creating a sprawling, blended family, Luke loved Rory like she was his own. Between his three charges, he wasn't supposed to have a favorite, but Rory was that. Even Anna, who had come recently to visit April, could see it, though Luke desperately tried to deny it.

"I knew it," Anna had said. "How can our daughter compete with that?"

Luke had taken it as a slight. "Don't you dare tell me I don't care about Rory!" he had snarled at Anna before he could stop himself.

Anna had blinked. "You love her," she stated.

And Luke did. He loved Rory. And now... he wanted to show her that love the only way he could. If she would have him.

"Rory? Princess, can I talk to you about something?"

"Sure," she shrugged, putting on her apron. "What's up?"

"You know that I was made your guardian, right?"

"Uh-huh."

"And how I loved your mother, Rory. Right?"

Rory smirked coyly. "Uh-huh."

"Well... Rory, I want to adopt you."

" _Adopt_ me?" Rory stared.

"Only if you want me to. You won't have to change your name; in fact, I don't want you to. You'll always be a Gilmore. I just thought..."

Rory caught off his rambling by throwing her arms around him. "Oh, yes! I'd like that very much, Luke... ah... Daddy. I love you, Daddy."

* * *

Luke got permission from the Gilmores and even managed to track down Christopher, whom he was sorry to hear was in prison for theft. _Probably explains why he has not visited Stars Hollow in a while_ , Luke thought. Christopher sadly handed over the rights to his daughter. Luke and Rory filled out the paperwork and took it to the Stars Hollow Courthouse. A few days later, it was confirmed that Luke Danes was Rory Gilmore's official adopted father.


	11. Chapter 11: Guidepost for Everything

**Chapter 11: Guidepost for Everything**

Chilton senior Rory Gilmore skipped excitedly into her home of Luke's Diner. In her hand were three stuffed envelopes. "Daddy! They came! From Harvard and Princeton and Yale! Shall we open them?"

Luke, Jess and April all gathered around. "Let's see those acceptances, princess!" her adopted father chortled.

Rory ripped open all three before even looking to see all the letters. "One... two... three for three! All Yes!"

Luke gave Rory a big hug. Ever since adopting her, hugging her had gotten to be much easier. As natural as breathing. "Wow... WOW! That's so great! All three! I'm so proud of you!" Luke kissed her nose. "And so would your mother."

* * *

Rory decided to go to Yale, where her grandparents had attended. She was made Valedictorian, and got to give a speech at graduation.

"I want to take this time to remember the woman with whom I share my name and my life's blood: Lorelai Gilmore! Thank you, Mom. I love you always and may you rest in peace!" Applause.

In the audience, Sookie began to choke up.

"I'm getting teary myself," Jackson said next to her.

Then Sookie looked down to row to see Lucas Danes - the gruffest man she had ever known - in actual tears. "Not you too!"

"I'm blubbering! You're freaks!" Luke waved them away.

"I also want to thank Luke Danes, my Daddy. And though you did not create me or give me life, though I do not share your blood, you are my father and have been since I can remember. You adopted me and have loved me without regard for this technicality. You have loved me as though I was your own flesh and blood. Thank you, Daddy! You are my guidepost for everything!" Rory finished.

At the end of the ceremony, Luke hugged his daughter tightly. "You are wise and strong, Rory and I am very proud of you. I have fed and clothed you and raised you since you were small, and you have already become a better person than I could ever hope to be."

"Thank you," Rory said tearfully. "For wanting me."

Luke let the tears flow freely. "I will _always_ want you, princess. I need you! I love you."

"I love you, Daddy!" Rory whispered.


	12. Chapter 12: Happy Birthday, Princess

**Chapter 12: Happy Birthday, Princess**

October 8th, 2003. 4 A.M. Luke shut off his set alarm before it even started ringing, and tiptoed into his adopted daughter's room. The clock on her nightstand now read 4:03 AM. He gently nudged Rory awake. She was home from Yale for Fall Break.

"Huh?"

"Happy Birthday, princess," Luke whispered.

Even in the darkness, Rory's eyes shone. "You remembered?" she whispered.

Luke shrugged. "Your mom used to say it was a tradition."

Rory nodded, remembering. "Wow, I feel important."

"You _are_ important," Luke assured her, sitting on the edge of her bed. "And you know something?"

"What?"

"I think you're a great kid, and the best sidekick an old fogey like me could have."

Rory giggled. "Especially when all the customers are hollering for their pancakes!"

"Oh, yes. Whatever would I do without you armed and ready to fire maple syrup everywhere?" Luke stroked her hair. "Damn, you're growing up so fast."

"Really?"

"Oh, yeah. It's just so hard to believe that... 19 years ago, your mom was in the exact position you are in now."

Rory yawned and nestled back into the pillows. "Oh, boy. Did she teach this story to you before...?"

"No. But she would tell it often enough when she came in for her morning coffee. Anyway, there she was, only she was apparently huge, with big, fat ankles and swearing like a sailor..."

"On leave," Rory interjected.

"Right! I knew it was some simile like that! So there she was, in labor, feeling as though she was doing the splits on a crate of dynamite."

Rory smirked. "Another simile?"

"Hey, she used that one, I remember! And being surrounded as she was by hundreds of doctors, she just assumed that there was a function for the ice chips they gave her."

"There wasn't," Rory recited.

"But I bet pelting the nurses sure was epic!" Luke laughed. He could see Lorelai now, chucking ice chips left and right at anyone who got too close to her. Rory was beginning to drift off, so Luke planted a kiss to her forehead. "Good night, baby girl."

"Good night, Daddy. I love you," Rory mumbled as Luke closed the door behind him.

Luke had never imagined himself to be a father. But even if Lorelai had not died, he knew there was nothing else he could have been, or would rather be, to Rory than her father.


	13. Chapter 13: Flashback - Why, God, Why?

**Chapter 13: Flashback - Why, God, Why?**

 _The night around Stars Hollow was still, save for the sounds of crickets chirping and frogs ribbitting. Up in the loft above the Diner, Luke sat by the window and lit a cigarette. He only ever smoked in very high-strung, stressful situations, and this was definitely one of those times._

 _After Lorelai's death, Luke was presented with a copy of Lorelai's last will and testament, ordering that he raise Rory if anything happened to her. In their years of friendship, Luke had heard all the sorry details of Rory's father being in abstentia and the estrangement between Lorelai and her parents. But even with all that, he had never expected Lorelai to turn to him as a suitable parental figure._

 _Now, on this first night without the energetic Inn Manager on Earth, Luke watched her child sleep in his bed (he had opted to sleep on a mattress on the floor). A child that was not even his, but that he - Luke - was now responsible for._

 _Luke found himself thinking back to a song he had once heard about questions, questions that don't ever end:_

 ** _"Why, God? Why today?... Who is the girl in this rusty bed? Why am I back in a filthy room? Why is her voice ringing in my head? Why am I high on her cheap perfume?... I mean you no offense, but why does nothing here make sense?"_**

 _Luke crossed to the bed and sat down on the edge, stroking Rory's hair, the questions still inundating his mind_. **_"Why me? What's your plan? I can't help her! No one can! I liked my memories as they were, but now I'll leave remembering her..."_** _Luke seriously thought about running away, too broken to face the task before him. But then, he lost himself in Rory's sleeping form. Even after losing her mother, she looked so peaceful, and innocent. Luke had watched her grow up, feeding her day after day. His heart ached when he remembered how, in those first few years he had known them, Lorelai and Rory would have to return to the potting shed they once lived in behind the Independence Inn, still cold and still poor, even if they were fed. Running away, however brief, had helped Luke deal with losing his father. But if he did the same to grieve Lorelai... Rory would die. Would she have to live in the potting shed? Or worse, beg on the streets? No! Luke would die first before that happened! If he left, Lorelai would never forgive him. And damn it if he didn't love Rory as if she was his own child! A stew of anguish and deep love eating away at him, Luke still sent up his thoughts of incomprehension to a seemingly irrational deity, even as he left behind the only thing he could - a part of himself. He was no longer just a man. He was a father._

 ** _"Why, God? Why this face? Why such beauty in this place? I liked my memories as they were, but now I'll leave remembering her! Just her!"_**


	14. Chapter 14: World Without You

**Chapter 14: World Without You**

Luke Danes kept his eyes trained on the dorm room through his binoculars. The night was quiet as he sat in his car on the edge of the Yale campus. In the shotgun seat, Jess bounced his leg nervously.

"Uncle Luke, why are we here? Rory's fine!" Jess whined.

"Hush, Jess," Luke growled low. "This is a party, and if she gets drunk, any Cro-Magnon ape of a man could have their way with her."

Perhaps he was a little paranoid, as Jess had told him on several of these spying excursions before. But Luke wanted to make sure his daughter was all right! If April were in the same position, old enough to go to college, Luke would probably do just what he was doing now.

Through the window of the dorm, Luke say Rory suddenly kissing some blonde dude. The boy began touching her.

"Damn hooligan! She wouldn't be kissing him if she wasn't drunk! He must have spiked her drink, the bastard!" And Luke was running up to the apartment before Jess could stop him. So the young Mariano just waited in the car. Luke didn't need him to make a scene; he did that enough on his own. One past invasion, a frat boy had gotten the drop on them both by calling the campus cops. Uncle and nephew had spent a night in jail. A peeved Rory had bailed them out the next morning, though by the look on her face, had seemed not to want to.

The music abruptly stopped as Luke burst in and pointed a giant finger at the blonde interloper. "HEY! GET YOUR HANDS OFF HER; I MEAN IT! RIGHT NOW! HAND IN THE AIR! I WANNA SEE HANDS IN THE AIR!"

Rory quickly guided Luke towards the door. "Daddy, what are you doing here again? I told you; I'm fine!"

"You're not fine! That punk spiked your drink and was feeling you up! I saw him!"

"Logan didn't do anything like that! He's my boyfriend!"

"Over my dead body he is," Luke growled low.

"You know, Chris wouldn't be doing this..." Rory pointed out.

"Chris isn't here!" Luke bellowed, trying not to act like the mention of Rory's biological dad still didn't send him into a jealous rage.

"Well, sometimes, I wish he was here and still my dad!" Rory spit out before she could think. An instant later, she wished she could take back the words, but too late. A hurt Luke turned sadly away, all but running to the car, and driving him and Jess home. Rory didn't need him anymore, he guessed.

* * *

Rory and Luke did not speak for several months after that. Rory tried calling to apologize at first, but then just became nervous that her adoptive father would never forgive her. On the occasional times she did go home for breaks - most of these she spent crashing with that Logan Huntzberger - she and Luke would barely speak and even try to physically avoid being in the same room.

Things only got worse from there. After Rory stole a boat with Logan and spent a night herself in jail, she decided to drop out of Yale. She heard through Jess that Luke was furious with her. So Rory ran away to Hartford, crashing with her grandparents and working with Emily at the DAR. She threw her 21st birthday party there. Jess, who was now serving as a reluctant middleman between father and daughter, attended at Rory's invitation and gave her a present on Luke's behalf. A necklace that had once belonged to Luke's mother.

Rory eventually went back to Yale, but after she broke down crying over her father with a campus psychologist, she had had enough. She thought of the words to a song she had once heard: _"Oh, My Father... you know that half my heart is yours. All that you gave me, I can't repay you; if I betray you, I'll break in two. How can I live... I cannot live... I will not live in a world without you!"_

She drove home to Stars Hollow that very night, calling Luke on the way. Pulling up to the diner, she leapt out of her car and the pair flung themselves into each other's arms.

"I was stupid!" Luke admitted.

"I was _more_ stupid!" Rory blubbered.

"I should have pulled you out of there..."

"I love you, Daddy!"

"Oh, kid..." Luke sighed. "You have no idea..."


	15. Chapter 15: I'll Be With You

**Chapter 15: I'll Be With You**

Rory still managed to graduate from Yale on time. She got a job fresh out of school working for Senator Barack Obama's presidential campaign as a reporter. The whole town of Stars Hollow threw a fine party for her... that Luke planned himself. He even held a town meeting (which he normally despised) and worked through the night before to get it ready and guard against inclement weather.

The Gilmore grandparents came, and praised Luke on the job he had done - not just for the party, but for raising Rory. "It takes a special person to inspire all of this," Richard had praised.

Early on the morning that Rory was to leave, she had one last cup of coffee at her beloved Luke's.

"Don't worry, Daddy. You've given me everything I need," she told him gently.

"But I'll still be with you. Always," Luke smiled, as he wiped down the counters.


End file.
